Cat Tales
by Blood-Spattered
Summary: When Puss rescues a strange black cat named Luna in the forest near the swamp, he finds a companion. But Luna has a secret...she is not what she seems...((I know it sounds like Shrek, it's not...))
1. A Chance Rescue

Cat Tales

Sunlight filtered through the trees at the edge of the swamp, while the swamp itself was bathed in the warm golden light of summer. It made the swamp look almost habitable. It was quiet, even…until the soft clomping of black boots, and the swish of a sword broke the silence. It was accompanied by some soft hissing, and before long the sounds had disappeared into the forest as Puss-in-boots took his sword fighting practice down the path.

He parried his way down the path, orange fur glistening in the sunlight, emerald eyes flashing with the heat of battle, even if it wasn't real battle. With a summersault leap, he gave a flowing bow, sweeping his hat off his head. Then he placed it back on his head at a tilt, sheathing his sword, and was about to return to the swamp when his ears perked at a new sound. A loud yowl of distress, from somewhere down the path.

"A señorita in distress!" He said to himself, then dashed off down the path, at one point disappearing up into the trees, until the source of the loud screeching became apparent. From his perch in the branch of an old oak, he could see a hawk screeching loudly and swooping at a hollow stump, obviously trying to get at something inside. What that was Puss could not see from his position. He could, however, hear some hissing and scratching from within the stump, obviously from a trapped creature of some sort, and, from what he could hear, it sounded feline.

He unsheathed his sword and leaped towards the hawk with a battle cry, which had perched onto the stump, trying to peck his way inside. It squawked in surprise and tried to take flight. By the time it finally managed it, it had lost a great many feathers and was flying a bit lopsided, slightly dazed. Once Puss was certain that the hawk was gone for good, he climbed up onto the stump, leaning one elbow on the edge of the stump, looking down at the other cat inside, who was obviously both petrified and indignant.

"You have nothing to fear señorita, for I have scared the hawk away…" He said, reaching one paw down to help up the female, not really expecting a reply. After all, most cats were not fairy-tale creatures, and did not speak. The sultry black cat stood up on her hind legs to grab his paw, and he pulled her up gently, as she used her back paws to gain traction in the bark of the wood. Once he had gently placed her on the edge of the stump, she sat back, cocking her head at him, with what he could've sworn was a smile on her face.

"You don't understand what I'm saying, do you señorita? I thought I might have been lucky and you were a fairy-tale creature who I could talk to…guess not, eh?" The other cat didn't answer, just blinked her beautiful tawny eyes dolefully at him, as if waiting for him to do something. Puss sighed, dropping down to the ground, speaking over his shoulder. "Try not to let any more hawks see you…"

He was all the way back to the path before he noticed the soft footsteps behind him, and he whirled, seeing that the feline had followed him, still watching him quietly. "What are you following me for, señorita? Go find your home, your family…you look well-fed, you must have one…" He made a moving motion with one paw, the opposite way down the path, then started walking again. A few minutes later, he whirled, finding that she was still behind him, about three feet down the path.

"Look, I know you don't understand me, but don't you get it? I don't know you, you have to find your family, or your home, or wherever you live, and stop following me!" He turned away again. He wanted a friend, in all honest truth. Donkey was a great friend, of course, and Shrek and Fiona were wonderful, but he missed feline companionship. That's why his heart jumped into his throat when a small but confident voice came from behind him.

"I don't have one." The voice was obviously fully developed, the cat was an adult female, and she was obviously looking for the same thing that he was. Just a friend, someone to help her. The voice was pleading, and as he slowly turned, the tawny eyes seemed to plead with him from where she sat, tail twitching slightly.

"You can talk…why didn't you before?" He asked, totally ignoring the question. He was standing on two feet now, sword sheathed at his side, hat still sitting tilted at an angle. He watched as she moved down the path until she was about a foot and a half away.

"I chose not to." She answered simply, voice flowing like a river to him. She held out one soft paw for him to shake. "I didn't get to thank you properly, for saving my life…My name is Luna…" He took her paw, bowing and kissing it softly, in proper gentlemen style.

"A pleasure, señorita, I am Puss-in-boots, and such a beautiful name certainly fits a beautiful feline such as yourself." She looked embarrassed, but murmured a thank you before dropping to all fours again, cocking her head at him. He indicated the way down the path, and bowed slightly. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?" He asked, his Spanish accent doubly ferocious with the added presence of a female.

"I would love to…" She dropped to all fours, and started padding along the path, tail swishing slightly. Puss followed her, as if she had invited him and not the other way around, but he knew it mattered not. The path led to the swamp, whether or not you meant to go there. As they walked, they made small talk, and she giggled and laughed many times, which rang melodiously through the forest.

As they passed the 'Beware, Ogres' signs, she looked at them nervously, and hesitated, but when Puss didn't stop, she continued on, looking around as if expecting something to leap out at them at any time. He smiled softly at her nervousness.

"Don't be afraid, the ogres that live in this swamp are friendly, they won't hurt you. They just leave those signs up to discourage unwanted visitors." He said reassuringly, and she nodded, smiling slightly, thinking that Puss-in-boots was the nicest person she had ever remembered.

((First chapter done…I know it sucks guys, and it's short, don't worry, I'll make the next chapters better…please rate and review…))


	2. New Friends

Cat Tales

Chapter 2

Luna followed Puss quietly, not making any conversation. In all truth, Luna wasn't her original name. It was the name given to her by the owners who had found her when she'd been starving in the woods a few years ago. She'd pretended to just be a normal house cat, with no special powers to speak of, mostly because at the time all fairy-tale creatures were getting sold or evicted. So she'd hidden out, but then the older woman had died, and the older man had found that she reminded him too much of the dead wife, and had stopped feeding her, and so, she was left to fend for herself, which she had been doing for the last few days, until that hawk had seen her.

She had many secrets, not something she would freely discuss. She was a mysterious cat, and blended in when she wanted to. In fact, if she felt the inclination, she could've disappeared, and Puss would never have been able to figure out where she'd gone. She didn't, however, because Puss had invited her for breakfast, and, what could she say? That accent was…capturing.

Puss was stepping lively, hoping to sneak Luna in before the ogre awoke, as he knew Shrek hated visitors. Oh, well, he could always give him the 'cute kitty eyes'. That almost always got him what he wanted, and he usually didn't wise up until later. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Luna was still following and nearly banged noses with her, since she had sped up her pace so that she was right next to him.

Had she been a human, she would have blushed, which was one of the advantages of being a cat. She could hide her emotions if she wanted to. "Whoops, sorry…I thought you realized I was next to you…" She said airily, smiling a sincere smile.

"'Tis nothing, señorita. We are nearly there, and I can already smell Princess Fiona's bacon cooking on the skillet." He inhaled deeply, sniffing in the delicious smell wafting from the house in the swamp. She took a deep breath as well, recognizing the smell of bacon and eggs, although it seemed as if their was just a small thing added, although she couldn't tell what it was. Interesting, very interesting.

"Did you say Princess?" She asked, and immediately began nervous, smoothing her fur, which was a bit wild, which, actually, was quite attractive. "Do I have to act a certain way? I've never met any royalty…"

Puss smirked, and ruffled up the fur she had just smoothed down. "Don't worry, she is not exactly the kind of princess you'd expect…" Just as he was saying this, Shrek appeared in the doorway, calling out to him, sounding a bit irritated.

"Puss, I wish you would stop just disappearing like that, especially when we could use your help!!" He said, walking towards him, his hands on his hips angrily. Puss just stood there nonchalantly, but Luna had totally frozen with fear, her eyes wide. She was crouched, watching the huge green creature walking towards them, like a giant to her. Shrek only just noticed the small black cat and raised an eyebrow, addressing Puss as if Luna couldn't understand them.

"How many times have I told you not to bring strays home?" He asked Puss, who shrugged. He actually hadn't taken any strays home, he was much more refined than that. Shrek just said that because he was always reminding Donkey, who often brought home his fairy-tale friends to Shrek's house, to Shrek's great irritation.

Seeing that Luna had obviously either lost her voice temporarily, or simply was choosing not to speak, Puss began to defend her cause valiantly. "She was lost in the woods, and a hawk seemed to believe she was supper. I offered her some breakfast and a place to stay." He stopped, seeing that Shrek was moving his eyes from him to Luna, then back again, obviously angry.

"Look, if Fiona's willing, she can have some breakfast, but she can't…" Shrek trailed off, his eyes locked on Luna, and he was wearing the same expression he wore whenever Puss gave him his 'cute kitty eyes'. Puss glanced at Luna himself and nearly fell over as his own mind melted. Luna, having recovered from the initial shock and fear, had pulled back so that she was sitting normally, and had cocked her head at Shrek, giving him kitty eyes that easily rivalled Puss'. Shrek, after a moment of apparently wrestling with his own mind, sighed and gave in.

"Alright…I guess she can stay…" Luna grinned and stood up on her hind legs, batting at the hem of Shrek's tunic, playing the part of innocent kitty perfectly. Shrek smiled despite himself and scooped up the cat in one hand, carrying her towards the kitchen. Puss grinned and shook his head, padding along behind. _That is one clever kitty…and a very cute one at that…_ He thought to himself, smiling. _We are going to get along great…_

Inside the house, Fiona was singing softly to herself as she grilled up some bacon and eggs in the kitchen, and glanced up as Shrek walked in, grinning at the cat. "Aww, who's this? Oh, isn't she the cutest little thing you ever saw?" She said, cooing over Luna, who was obviously enjoying the attention, but still hadn't given away that she was anything more than a stray. A normal, non-fairy-tale type stray. Shrek placed Luna down on the ogres' table, where she sat innocently. Puss couldn't help feeling just a little jealous. They never let _him _sit on the table.

"Would you like some bacon, kitty? What's her name, Shrek?" Fiona asked while putting some cut-up bacon onto a plate and putting it front of her, which she immediately began to eat daintily, smirking at Puss from the edge of the table. She didn't eat it all, although she definitely wanted to. Instead, she left a couple pieces on the plate, and carefully nosed them over to the edge, glanced at Fiona and Shrek to make sure they were distracted, then grabbed it with her front paws and jumped down to the floor, setting it down. She pushed it over to Puss, then sat back, winking at him.

"For me, señorita?" He asked, surprised and flattered. "No, no, I have lots of food…eat it, you must be starved…" He said gently, pushing the plate back, and she cocked her head at him, then whispered a thank you and finished eating it quietly. Shrek was answering Fiona's question, shrugging, and glancing at the two cats.

"I don't know her name. Puss, what's her name?" Both Fiona and Shrek turned their attention on Puss, who opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by the sudden appearance of Donkey, who slammed through the door with one of his little mutant children in tow. Seeing the mutant, Luna gave a loud yowl and leaped up onto the table, hissing, back arched and fur sticking up. The mutant, whose name was Freddy, gave an delighted hee-haw noise and tried to jump up after her, flapping his wings to make up the distance he couldn't jump.

Donkey, who had yet to notice the new addition, scampered over to Fiona by the stove, which was the source of the wonderful bacon smell. "Hello Fiona, you look lovely today, did you do something to your hair?" He asked, as Luna made a flying leap from the table towards the counter, and only just made it, hooking her front paws into the wood, and pulled herself up the rest of the way, leaving deep claw marks.

Fiona rolled her eyes and dropped a piece of bacon for Donkey without another word, which effectively distracted the little mutant from his pursuit of his new toy. Luna, seeing that she was no long being chased, leaped to the floor and slunk into a shadowed corner, smoothing her fur nonchalantly. The little mutant and Donkey immediately started begging for more food, Donkey with his extremely high-pitched whining, and his little child with it's hee-hawing. Luna covered her ears with both hands, and scampered out of the door into the yard, followed by Puss, although he was more used to the annoying whining.

Once they were out of hearing range, they both stopped and grinned at each other. Suddenly, Luna tackled Puss playfully with a playful yowl, and soon they were wrestling, rolling all over the yard, narrowly avoiding tumbling into the swamp. They were both shouting playful insults, forgetting that Luna was not supposed to be able to talk. After about fifteen minutes, Puss had pinned Luna under the tree, and was grinning triumphantly. "The fight is mine, señorita."

They both then stood up, panting, and Luna collapsed onto the soft grass, grinning at him from her position on her stomach. "You may have won this one, but I'll win one of these days…" Puss leaned against the tree, and jumped as a voice came from behind him.

"So, the little cute kitty cat is maybe a bit more than that, eh?" Luna and Puss both turned, and Luna looked guilty as they saw Fiona standing just behind the tree, obviously having exited the kitchen to escape the high-pitched whining, just like they had. After a few seconds of awkward silence, they both started explaining at once, which resulted in nobody being clear and their explanations conflicting with each others, and not making a lot of sense. Fiona shushed them sternly, rolling her eyes and smiling.

"Don't worry…your secret is safe with me…besides, I could use another girl around here. Dragon's nice, but…" She shrugged absently, and reached down, scooping up Luna gently, who snuggled into her neck, purring.

"Thank you, Miss. Fiona…I greatly appreciate it…don't worry, I won't stay here long, I just need shelter for a night or so, until I make a decision about where to go…" Luna said sweetly, which, for some reason, provoked the immediate thought into Puss' head that he had to keep her there as long as possible. If only for some feline companionship, after all, it got lonely being the only cat around this place.

Luna rested on Fiona's shoulders, wondering…should she stay around here? After all, life was good as a cat, and she had made some friends…but then, what choice did she have? Would she ever tell Puss her secret? No, because he was one of those…he would want to get her justice, and it was impossible…

((And finished, finally…sorry guys, I've been on vacation. Also, a note to those who read my other fanfictions, they won't be updated for a while either, because all the new chapters are on my other computer…Anyway, hope you enjoy this!))


	3. Planning a Journey to Destiny

Cat Tales

Chapter 3

The rest of the day was spent with mostly just her and Puss. Fiona had returned into the kitchen to make sure Shrek didn't kill Donkey and his child with a knowing glance exchanged between the three conspirators. Luna sat watching the stars and the moon that she was named after, on the top of a nearby hill, thinking of a time a long time ago…when she'd sat under the same stars, watching the same moon, wondering and dreaming of her own happy-ever-after, whatever that may be…

She sighed, ears drooping slightly as she brought herself back to reality. _I certainly never thought I'd be begging for food and shelter…I have no home, no family, and I've been changed into something I'm not meant to be…some fairy-tale…_ Seeing that Puss was watching her, obviously wondering what had caused such a sad sigh, she straightened, sending one last prayer up to the heavens, then turned, watching Puss for a moment before smiling.

"The time is late, Puss…we should get some rest…" She said quietly, and he cocked his head and nodded, sweeping off his hat with a flourish and bowing to the fair maiden.

"Indeed we should, fair damsel. Good night, sweet Luna, and may no nightmares plague your sleep." He said sweetly, and she smiled, bowing her head slightly before padding silently off to the little basket that Shrek and Fiona had created for her to sleep in. Although they'd originally placed it inside, she, like Puss, preferred the outdoor air, and had pushed it out the door and into the yard, but kept it near to the house. She liked the outdoors, but was a little timid of the other animals that lived out there.

Puss, however, remained up on the hill, and as she curled up into her basket, she could hear him crooning softly in Spanish, silhouetted in the rising moon, his hat perched on his head. Smiling, she closed her tawny eyes, allowing the sultry voice to lull her slowly to peaceful slumber.

Puss, his green eyes glowing softly in the dark, did not fall asleep so easily. His mind tumbled with thoughts of who this Luna really was. He could see that she was no ordinary cat, or even an ordinary fairy-tale cat. There was something about her that he just couldn't put his paw on. And that intrigued him. He finally did make his way to his own bed, and fell asleep with his paw on his sword, as always.

---------------------------------------------The next morning-----------------------------------------

Luna awoke with the sun, it's light reflected beautifully in her bright eyes as she opened them slowly, the first rays of the sun only just poking over the same hill that they had been standing on the night before. She slowly stood up, stretching out her muscles leisurely, then padded over to the hill to greet the sun, not expecting that she already had company that early in the morning.

"What a beautiful morning…a morning in which things should be started…" She said to herself as she rested at the top of the hill, watching the sun rising above her head, but her own mind disagreed with her. _A morning in which things should be started…but I'll start it after breakfast…after all, I can't leave on an empty stomach. Besides, I'm not even sure where I'm going…what did that bloody fortune teller say again? _

"_To find what you seek…  
You must follow the setting sun  
Go north from the place  
Where you first have begun."_

"Bloody fortune-tellers and their riddles…" She muttered out loud, trying to figure out how she could follow the setting sun and go north at the same time. Unless she went northwest…but no, that still didn't make sense.

"Fortune-tellers?" Came a familiar Latino voice from the trees above her, and she looked up, startled, to see the orange Puss-in-boots lounging lazily in the branch above her head. He did a graceful summersault down to the ground in front of her, smiling. "Fortune-tellers don't know what they're talking about, they just pretend to with confusing riddles that make them sound mystical."

"No, no, this one knew what she was talking about…" She said, trying to get him to understand. "She knew everything about me before I even said a word…it was…freaky…" Puss nodded, cocking his head. There were some real fortune-tellers in the world, although they were few and far between, perhaps she'd been lucky and she hadn't found a quack.

"Perhaps she was one of the few real fortune-tellers then…why don't you tell me the riddle, perhaps I can help you?" He said, smoothing his fur absently with his paw. She sat back, looking down at her feet, obviously thinking.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt…I gave up on figuring this one out a long time ago, so this quest was never finished." She stretched out her front paws, as if stalling, then cleared her throat and recited the poem, which she had, of course, memorized.

Puss scratched his ear with one of his back paws, considering. "Hmm…a very confusing poem, señorita, for how can you follow the sun and go north at the same time?" He thought about it for a few moments, then made a suggestion. "Perhaps…this is not where you have first begun? Perhaps when she said that she meant somewhere else, such as perhaps where you were born, or where you first realized you needed whatever it is you seek?"

Luna nodded, realizing that this did make sense. "But that could be anywhere...but if I want to start finding her, I'm going to have to start soon…I hope the old hag's still alive…" Realizing she'd said this last bit out loud, she cleared her throat uncomfortably, and of course Puss noticed.

"Old hag? Who do you speak of, Luna?" He asked, cocking his head and she looked down at her feet, trying to figure out whether she should tell him or not…no, she couldn't, at least not all of it.

"Oh…no one…just speaking metaphorically…" She lied smoothly, and thought about it. She couldn't tell them she was leaving, she'd just have to leave…before she got too attached to them. She'd leave as soon as the sun went down. Puss eyed her, a small frown decorating his face.

"If you say so…come on, I can smell breakfast cooking, so Fiona and Shrek must be up…" He said, deciding that he wouldn't address it right at the moment. She nodded and followed him down the slope, obviously glad that he hadn't pressed her. They walked into the kitchen, finding that Donkey had come back at some point, and was now sitting at the table. To Luna's obvious relief, he didn't have his little mutant child tailing behind him, and this time he did notice her.

"Hey, there's another cat around here? Is she fairy-tale? Can she talk? Is she going to hurt me?" He asked Puss, who rolled his eyes and didn't bother answering, but Luna watched him, and winked before leaping down after Puss. "Hey, she just winked at me! Didn't she?" Shrek stared at him.

"What are you talking about, Donkey? She's not a fairy-tale creature, you must be imagining things…as usual…" Shrek said, rolling his eyes and returning to where he was frying more bacon on the stove. Donkey watched Luna suspiciously, as she drank some milk from the little bowl Fiona had put down for her in the corner.

"There's something fishy about that cat and I don't mean her breath…" Donkey said, earning him a glare from Puss, and an eye roll from Shrek. Fiona glanced at Puss and Luna, raising an eyebrow.

Luna continued lapping up her milk with her small pink tongue, pretending to be totally oblivious to what was going on. After all, she was just an ordinary housecat, and she couldn't understand English…After finishing the bit of bacon that she was given, she padded silently out into the yard once again, to give herself some time to think, after all, what would she need?

After looking around to make sure that no one was watching her, she dashed off into the forest, dashing off down the path until she was far enough in to be sure no one would overhear her. She tended to talk to herself when she was stressed and nervous, and it helped her think better.

"Well…I'm going to need a lot of food…after all, the only place I can think of where I might have begun is a long, long way from here…I don't even know for sure where…" Deciding that the rather depressing chain of thought wasn't getting her anywhere, she put that to the back of her mind for the moment. "But I can't take that much food from them, after they gave me shelter and a good meal…I'll just take enough for a week, maybe less, and hope I'll be able to get more along the way." Having made that decision, she turned to another difficulty.

"How am I going to travel? I suppose I'll have to walk…after all, I can't even ride a horse anymore, with these paws…I can't grip the reins…so walking is the answer." She nodded, leaning against the trunk of a tree. "I'll have to leave as soon as the sun sets…tonight…before I get even more attached…" She sighed, massaging her forehead with one paw. "No painful goodbyes…no requests to stay…no, I can't…I can't handle any of that…no, I'm just going to go." With that settled, she felt a lot better and more confident that she actually would leave that night.

So she turned and started back towards the swamp, head held high, padding along, black fur glistening in the sun filtering through the tree-tops. Tonight…tonight would be the start of a huge adventure…but would she both survive the journey and find a way to turn back to her true form? 

((Does anybody know what Luna originally was yet? If you haven't figured it out yet, don't worry, you'll find out soon enough…I'm trying to make it a bit of a surprise…but…you'll probably already know by the time I tell you, so no worries everyone! See you all soon!))


End file.
